Sweet Bubble
by chumato
Summary: Set after PW:JFA, third case. Regina-centric. One-shot drabble. Glittering, blue-eyed innocence can be destructive.


**Note**: Set after the third case of the PW: Justice for All. Written on a whim while replaying, which explains the title. A quick drabble, not meant to be grammatically consistent.

Regina Berry-centric.

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**Sweet Bubble**

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She no longer wears her hair sprinkled with glitter, adorned with gems and flowers. Her tight, bouncy golden curls have loosened into wavy tresses. The gleam and sparkle of her wide eyes, produced from years of a father's protection from the cold slate reality of a cruel world, delusions of nonsensical, warm and fuzzy fantasies of souls becoming stars embedded in the sky, has been swept away and left her with an ever-somber expression.

Moe had silently questioned Ringmaster Berry's parenting skills but dared not patronize. He understood that a father's love for his child could be suffocating; an obligation to shield his precious princess from the ugliness of life, constantly wanting to keep her happy and see that beaming smile on her peachy face were things Moe had experienced with his own Larina. He failed, in that respect, when he could not bring home enough money from his clowning passion to take care of his family. He failed as a father when his wife, frustrated from debt and humiliation, packed up and took off with Larina in her arms. He failed by exposing young Larina to the ugly marital separation of her mother and father.

Russell still had Regina. He was better than Moe in being a dad, among other things, and he decided to respect that.

Regina Berry was a dazzling peach of a child, "cute as a Maltese puppy," as Moe liked to say. Her thoughts and soul were innocence and ignorance and pink ponies and fluffy clouds made of spun sugar.

There was no place in this world of murder, hatred, poverty and sickness for the fragile bubble Russell created for Regina. That bubble was going to hit a sharp corner one day, and all would eventually be exposed in all its starkness, in all its bleak shades.

It was just a matter of time.

And what a time it was, Moe would think.

As she grew into her later teenage years, her quirky character became less endearing and more destructive. Regina was becoming a gorgeous lady and the members of the Berry Big Circus were taking notice. The incongruity of her physical growth and the static nature of her thoughts could be frustrating and, possibly, maddening to those around her. It wasn't easy constantly catering to the wiles of a childish 16-year-old, absorbing her unintentionally cruel jokes and letting them go with a chuckle, forgiving her exhausting immaturity...

For Acro, Regina's hand in causing the near-death of Bat and the loss of use of his legs was the final straw that culminated in his descent into darkness, Russell's death, and the near disbandment of the Berry Big Circus family that had taken decades to build and take to stardom.

Moe decided enough was enough. He quietly took Regina to court and made sure she paid attention. He was going to bring an end to this nonsense and show Regina the hurtful truth. As much as Moe hated to admit, residing in such a bubble of na vet was no way to live.

"Regina, it's really important that you stay quiet and listen to everything those people talk about today. Acro's going to be talking about what he saw the night your father died."

"Okay, Moe! Aah, I wonder if Acro will be doing any of his tricks today..."

Gradually, Regina began to understand what had happened; slowly, the bubble began to dissolve. She was climbing out of the protective well her father had dug for her.

Moe silently apologized to Russell as Regina began to cry in the courtroom, the pain of realization hitting her-- that it was all her fault, all her own.

She is still the official animal trainer in the troupe, but has lost the tiara and wand and hot-pink outfit. She speaks softly, almost like she's tired and shy about it. There's a sadness in her smile.

She sits in silence at her father's grave, brushing her fingers along the grass and staring into the horizon. She bows her head and stays in that position until her neck aches when she visits Acro in prison, begging for some form of forgiveness and then, in a hushed voice, demanding an apology for the loss of her father. But she knows her father was Acro's father, and her loss was his as well. There is nothing else to be said.

She wears a modest green jacket and long, dark brown skirt when she visits Bat, holding his limp hand for hours, for herself and for Acro, telling him stories about the circus and Max and Trilo and Ben and Moe and Regent. She's not sure if Bat will still like her when he wakes up from his coma-- she's lost the twinkle and carefree flightiness that charmed Bat... but that's not important. There are other things to be concerned about and more forgiveness to be sought.

Regina knows now. She's grown up.


End file.
